Hi! Fred's 5 gallon chi is currently cycling(nitrite levels just shot up! :D) so I'm hoping that the ammonia will go down soon and I will test for nitrate soon(I'm doing the shrimp cycle, fishless).

Anyways, this morning I freaked out because I thought he was dead. He was just lying at the bottom of the tank on his side! I thought he got stuck underneath the new porcelain stone 'leaf' i made for him but he was not at all stuck. I tapped his food to the rim(like I always do before feeding time) and he shot up to the top and started eagerly swimming around. The water was a little cold this morning, maybe 76. I didn't have time to mess with him(I had class) so when I came home, I tested ammonia levels. I just did a 75% water change about two days ago, but the ammonia was high! .75ppm :/ (I'm still learning how to be a good fred caretaker) So I did a full change and took the temp of the water before changing it. It was 78.3 (or .1 or 77.9 don't exactly remember. It stays within that 76(rarely)-80 zone, usually 78-79). I'm getting a heater for the chi.

When I was looking at him in the 'holding' jar, it looked like he had this missing slime/'fracture' white lines on him. It doesn't look like fungus or anything. Just if you coated something with jelly and then scraped some of it off.. there's nothing in the tank that could scratch him. I don't know what that's about or if it's some sort of disease...I really hope there's nothing actually wrong with him but I'm scared :( I put in some stress coat the other day for the water. I think I just did a teeny bit too much? a little more than double the dose D: My water is pretty good straight from the tap(I put it through the Pur filter before filling his tank up though). So the water doesn't really need stress coat. I was just making sure that he had an adequate slime coat :( But I feel like now that probably did him more harm than good if he's sick.... :( I also put a little aq salt in(just the right amount, a little less than the recommended dose).

After I changed the water, I put the correct dose of aq salt and stress coat in and he is still sitting at the bottom sort of 'gasping!' :( I don't know what's wrong, there is no ammonia in my water. OH also, I just bought some freeze dried blood worms and fed them to him the other day (in small parts). I don't know if that could have done anything to him? I noticed the missing 'slime' a few days ago but it wasn't as excessive as it was today :(

I attached pictures. I can take a video if that would help? The lighting kind of sucks, I had to use a led flashlight.

Housing
What size is your tank? half gallon, the 5 gallon is still cycling.
What temperature is your tank? 76-80. It just was 78. It usually sits 77-78, no colder than 76, no warmer than 80.
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? no.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? omega one pellets, freeze dried bloodworms(just started, only a little bit like two pieces), hikari pellets(sometimes)
How often do you feed your betta fish? usually twice a day with a fast about once a week. Or I'll feed him only once a day for one day. 3-4 pellets.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? full h20 change, about every 3 days. I tried to do a 75% but obviously, with this small of a tank it is ineffective. Going to stick with a full change every three days.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100% except for the 75% time.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? aq salt, stress coat although the water doesn't need it.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? weird slime coat parts missing on his body and tail look like 'fractures'
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? he is still very active if I talk to him/tap the rim for food. He's laying at the bottom of the tank when he usually sits towards the top :( He will sometimes sit at the bottom(temp is not cooler/hotter at bottom than it is at the top), but never on his side :(
When did you start noticing the symptoms? this morning i noticed him laying on his side at the very bottom! I noticed the slime a few days ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I haven't
Does your fish have any history of being ill? not that I know of. Totally healthy when I bought him.
How old is your fish (approximately)? don't know, got him from petco november 1 2012.

UPDATE ** right now(just changed the water literally 10 min ago** he's not gasping like he was before. Just breathing at the bottom moving his gills and not laying on his side. I'm assuming that was the ammonia that was making him gasp? Now just to figure out why he's all slimy and weird looking :(

I'm no expert, but he could just be stressed out for some reason. When I brought Vardaman home he laid on his side at the bottom of his cup. I had walked him the 10 minutes home in cold weather. Maybe those could be the lines that they get from stress? I have never seen them before, but it is possible. Is there anything that could have been stressing him out?

Velvet
•Symptoms: Can be found by shining a flashlight on your betta. If it looks like it is covered in fine gold of rust colored dust then it has velvet. Clamped Fins, no appetite, darting/rubbing, loss of color, lethargic
•Treatment: It is very contagious so you should treat the entire tank. Treat as you would treat Ick. PP is also my favorite for treating Velvet.

You said you are cycling his aquarium and he is just in that tank temporarily, right? If that is the cause then he is basically already in a quarantine tank. You'd just have to clean it out good and then medicate him if you can ever figure out what is wrong with him.
Have you tried Googling his symptoms? You may be able to find something on it that way.

Hi butterfly. It looks like Fred may have some slime coat issues possibly because of external parasites. With the exception of velvet, ich, and anchor worms, most external parasites are invisible to the naked eye and the only way we can guess if they have them is if the fish is rubbing or darting or showing signs like excess slime coat production.

The Stress Coat is fine. I think you have to pour in half the bottle before you can overdose on that stuff so I don't think you hurt him at all with the extra Stress Coat.

For now, I would recommend putting Fred in a temporary hospital tank and treating with 3 tsps of AQ salt per gallon with daily water changes (at least 50%). The idea is if he does have external parasites, the salt will both neutralize some types of parasites and also help him create the necessary slime coat to keep them from attaching. The daily water changes will help remove any parasites that fall off into the water. But because of the frequent water changes, it's not a good idea to do this in a cycling tank.

You can treat with AQ salt for up to 14 days and if his symptoms are no better or have changed, we can try something else.

Sakura!!! omg thank you SOOOOOOOO much. He already looks MUCH better. The lines on one side have gone away and have gotten smaller on the other side. There is no film and he's not darting around like a crazy fish anymore. Just being his normal swimmy self. Only first day of treatment! Thank youuuu <3